Technology

I’m getting sick of technology. It’s like everything takes too many steps. Do you realize—not at all related to technology—home video was entirely focused on male consumers? The higher end. LaserDiscs, DVDs initially. I’m sure it’d be fascinating to look at. Sorry, I just realized there are like three audio commentaries on the Fight Club DVD, which is it’s own kind of weird. Studio special editions are self-congratulatory; Criterion, Masters of Cinema, whoever, those are celebratory. Shout! Factory is something of an outsider. They’re interested and enthusiastic, but limited by licensing. But technology. It’s one step to post this post right now. Three or four clicks. Minimal effort. I’m arguing against myself. Why am I getting sick of technology? Okay, maybe not of technology itself, but of thinking about technology. It’s all getting boiled down. I do exceptionally “geeky” things in the command line but I have it down. It only takes a few seconds, there are enough tools available to make it all flow together. It’s not elegant, it’s functional without being obtrusive. Windows doesn’t break every ten seconds anymore. It doesn’t hang anymore. Windows doesn’t hang anymore. Windows doesn’t hang anymore. And it doesn’t matter because computers have ceased to be a hobby and become relatively ubiquitous. When you count smart phones. When tech people complain about millennials, it almost always is rooted in some bewilderment over their use of technology, against the traditional grain. Because to them, it’s not a hobby. Rejoice, everyone thinks computers are as cool as you did. But no one gives a shit about the philosophies of their origins because the investment in the device itself isn’t there. It’s just a delivery system. Except at the same time, as these mobile computers go, the desktop ones are dying. Because there’s less and less of a reason to use them. Video games aren’t going to be enough to turn them back into a hobby. And the crisis isn’t from the computer makers—Apple releases an update regular people can’t afford because they’ve been buying too many iPhones, they still sold a bunch and made a bunch of cash. It’s for the enthusiasts. Computers are for making things. You know, making Excel spreadsheets or I don’t know, other stuff. Files, movies, music, whatever. Before, when people would argue the iPad isn’t a creation device, I wanted it to be wrong. Like, I used that thing a lot getting my second master’s, because it was all online and it was amazing to markup PDF, and I wrote a lot of blog posts on it—but I always had to come back to the computer—when I wanted to use it for actual serious writing writing, I had to set up a bluetooth keyboard. And I didn’t end up keeping any of that stuff. Or I’m just getting old and cranky. I don’t know. I feel guilty for not caring more about it. I feel like I should be interested in what’s going on with it, but I just can’t care. It’s not a fun hobby anymore.